The 12 Gifts of Christmas: 5th – The Alpkit MytiStax

On Day 4 we talked about the stove. Today we’re recommending the pots and pans to cook with. Let’s face it, if you’re camping, canoeing or spending time in the hills, food as fuel or as comfort is a pretty important element in the planning, right?

My pots and pans of choice are the Alpkit MytiStax. A set of three made from lightweight titanium – 400ml, 800ml and 1200ml that neatly stack together into a 142mm diameter, 135mm high nest. Conveniently just the right size to store your gas canister inside if you choose, although I tend to keep my lighter, steel and stabilising feet in mine, just to keep them all together.

The handles neatly tuck in around the pots to make them fit easily into your rucksack or dry bag. They have a rubber coating so you don’t burn your hand as you pick them up to pour.

The three pans together weigh just 272g which, I have to be honest, was what sold them to me in the first place. But especially if I’m cooking boil in the bag or eating dehydrated meals I often take just the big pot and the small pan, leaving the middle one at home, reducing the weight I’m carrying by a further 92g – every little helps!

The small pan turns upside down to act as a lid for both sizes of pot, meaning that your water comes to the boil more quickly and especially in Scotland, you reduce the number of midges that land in your water.

The small pan has a great non stick coating so it can also be used as a frying pan. It is a little small, and as mentioned on Day 4, you do have to keep food moving on most camping stoves, so a fried egg absolutely didn’t work. But scrambled egg (without needing added oil) with chunks of Babybel works a treat.

If you want to talk science, according to the Alpkit website, “Titanium is one of the most abundant elements on earth. Lightweight and very very strong. It is super inert – this is a benefit environmentally as it is recyclable plus its resistance to corrosion means it doesn’t pollute air, land and oceans. But it also makes for superb cookware as there’s no metallic taste”. I don’t know about the corrosion bit but I know I’ve not had any strange tastes when I’ve cooked in them.

So from pasta to curry, mashed potato to lentil dhal, these pans are the ones for me.

Currently retailing at around £45 on the Alpkit website.

What is your best one pot meal? Share in the comments and maybe you’ll inspire me to widen my repertoire!